Dave Samuel for The Dominion Post
Two weeks ago, I attended a local meeting where DNR officials sought public comments as they develop a 10-year plan for trout management. The DNR realizes that stocked trout and native and wild trout are intrinsically, recreationally and economically important to the people of West Virginia.
Dr. Vic DiCenzo and Jim Hedrick chaired the meeting, presenting background information then taking citizen comments. The goal of these public meetings is to develop goals based on what the public wants, then the DNR will put together the strategies to meet those goals. Developing this plan is a two-way street: Anglers must understand the constraints the DNR works under, and the DNR must understand what the public desires when it comes to trout.
There is a lot to consider. We have stocked trout, stocked fingerlings, catch and release, fly fishing only streams, the Gold Rush (stocking golden trout), dates for trout stocking and native trout fishing to consider.
In 1966, the state went to a year-round trout fishing season, eliminating the “opening day” concept. The reasons varied. First, opening trout season on one day created an unsafe madhouse with crowded fishermen along many streams. Changing to a year-round season created more fishing days due to fishermen missing months where the water temperature and flow were good for trout stocking. Eliminating opening day also allowed hatchery production to increase by 25 percent.
Many fishermen are concerned about all aspects of trout stocking, and raising trout for stocking is a huge undertaking. We have seven trout hatcheries in West Virginia where it takes 18-22 months to grow a catchable trout at a cost of $2.50-$3.00 per trout.
There are 190 put-and-take waters in West Virginia of which 55 streams where golden trout are released. There is fly-fishing-only in eight waters and catch-and-release in 20-plus waters.
There are many different trout stocking classifications with some streams stocked weekly between March and May, some stocked bi-weekly in that period and some stocked just once in April. You can get stocking information by going to http://www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/stocking/dailystock.shtm or by calling 304-558-3399.
One contentious issue with trout fishermen involves how many trout are stocked in a stream. The formula used by the DNR is based on the amount of water — they measure the acres of a lake or stream, then stock pounds of fish per acre. The annual amount in any water is usually 240 pounds per acre and, in a good production year, it might be a bit higher. In a poor year, it could be a bit lower. In general, to determine the pounds of trout stocked in a stream each time, the acreage of that stream is multiplied by 240 and divided by the number of times that stream or lake is stocked per year. Announced stockings are done Saturdays, and unannounced stockings are done Monday-Friday. There are factors that can affect the stocking dates, such as drought or floods, extreme cold or extreme heat — otherwise, the process is pretty straight forward. Rumors that local DNR personnel change the amount of fish stocked in a stream are just not true.
At the citizen meeting, there were lots of comments on stocking as well as the wild trout program. My impression was that the meeting was well received and that the DNR officials handled the questions in a transparent, open, honest manner. This plan is very important for the trout program, habitat, and fishing in West Virginia as well as tourist dollars trout fishing brings to the state. Hats off to the DNR for moving on that and we should all look forward to the release of the final plan in January 2021.
Dr. Samuel is a retired wildlife professor from West Virginia University. His outdoor columns have appeared, and continue, in Bowhunter magazine and the Whitetail Journal. If you have questions or comments on wildlife and conservation issues, email him at drdave4@comcast.net.
